Giant Redwood Forest and Pacific Coast Highway (and lots of elk)

We just drove through the Giant Redwood Forest in Northern California.  It's indescribable, of course, but I'll try.  Photos seem an impossibility right now, not that I didn't take quite a few.  Eventually, these photos of the Redwoods start looking the same, like the views of the beach.  I have a few photos that include Steve or myself, just to give a perspective.  But, many have seen photos of the Redwoods.  Being there is so much different.  What struck me was how MANY there are of the giant trees and the realization of how very old they are.  These trees can be up to 2000 years old, according to the U.S. National Parks.  How does a person wrap their mind around that idea?  Some of the trees I saw today could have existed during the Roman Empire, when there were still pharaohs in Egypt, during the Dark Age of Europe and the Renaissance.  Some will still be here when I and my children's children's children are long dead.  They are up to 375 feet tall, wider than the average human is tall, so silent, and so many.

Here Steve is asking if this tree makes his butt look too big.

There were two places to turn off of the Pacific Coast Highway in order to drive through these forests.  The State Parks person in Eureka at the State and National Park information center gave a lovely map and directions for the two scenic tours.  They are both well marked on the highway.  I particularly like the Avenue of the Giants, which includes large segments of the Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

The inside of a giant redwood.

The elk came out to send us off in search of a bed for the night.  This is where we learned that elk love to eat our roses just as much as deer.  The herd must have been at least 20 or so and they were definitely having their evening meal outside a small company house.

Those are definitely delicious roses next to the back steps.

Looks like the females and young grazed here and the adult males watched protectively from  across the street.

We were unable to find a campsite in the forests, so we ended up in Benbow, California in a lovely KOA beside a river.  We have another clean, tiny cabin (this time with air conditioner, private bathroom with shower!) at about 7pm, just in time before we both hit critical mass.  This was a very long day that started at 7am, on the road at 8:30am.

Tomorrow... we head for San Francisco and a short visit with Steve's cousins Kerry and Nancy, who live in the Orinda area.